


A State of Injustice

by Ferith12



Series: The Games of Soldiers [3]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23454124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferith12/pseuds/Ferith12
Summary: Or, the world is hard to understand, and Erzsebet wishes she could just punch all the bad people and make it better.
Series: The Games of Soldiers [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1641721
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	A State of Injustice

Seven-year-old Erzsebet Hedevary stared at the battered old TV screen in her family’s living room in mounting horror. It was the end of the reaping. The boy tribute in Twelve was skeleton-thin and walked with a limp.

Erzsebet held her breath waiting for someone,  _ anyone  _ to volunteer in his place. All the other teenaged boys of Twelve were  _ right there _ . Not one of them volunteered.

“They just _ stood _ there,” Erzsebet said, tears of fury streaming down her face, “How could they just  _ stand  _ there?”

“Things are different in Twelve,” her mother said, with the sort of calmness one learns when one has spent decades firmly, righteously angry about the way things are, and, having no other outlet, accepted that anger into the quiet stillness of their kindness. Or, as Erzsebet understood it, like an adult.

Erzsebet did not appreciate adults at this moment.

“At school they say that people from the poorer districts are all uncivilized stupid, but I had no idea they were  _ monsters _ ”

“ _ Erzsebet _ ,” her mother said sharply, “You know we don’t talk about people from our fellow districts that way.”

“But they just let him--- they’re all so selfish and heartless and  _ cowardly _ !” Erzsebet’s clenched fists shook at her sides. She felt a nearly irrepressible urge to punch someone, but any desirable target was frustratingly out of reach.

Mrs. Hedevary gently took her daughter’s hands in her own. “Things really are just different in Twelve,” she said, “I don’t think either of us could understand what it’s like there, with peacekeepers swarming all over the place, working in the coal mines until their lungs are full of black and they can’t breathe properly. They have to work so hard just to survive there, we can’t imagine the kind of bravery that takes. I don’t think they have the space to care about strangers in Twelve. You have to look after family first, you know that. And I think it just doesn’t occur to people that volunteering is an  _ option _ . The reaping is just a death sentence there, unlucky and unavoidable. We can’t blame them. That’s just what the Capitol wants. Do you understand, Erzsebet?”

Erzsebet didn’t, but she understood that she  _ didn’t _ understand. And she knew that it was mean to call anyone stupid or a monster, no matter what. Also, it wasn’t fair to call anybody a coward unless you’d personally gone and done whatever it was they were too scared to. So Erzsebet nodded. “I won’t say mean things about the other districts,” she said. “And if anyone  _ else _ says mean things,” she added, brightening considerably at the prospect, “I’ll punch them in the face!” 


End file.
